Hanyou Don't Get Sick
by Tairi Soraryu
Summary: Inuyasha's always there to protect Kagome from danger without a thought for himself. But when Inuyasha falls ill, and nobody knows how to cure him, it's up to Kagome to keep him alive...
1. Fight

Disclaimer: In my wildest dreams, I would own Inuyasha. Unfortunately, as I'm stuck in this miserable excuse of 'reality', he's exclusive property of Takahashi-san and many, many screaming fangirls.

Since I can't get a plotline off the ground for "Am Not", I'll just write this to satisfy my creative urges…

**Hanyou**** Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter One:**

**Fight**

* * *

 "Mou! Inuyasha!"

The familiar exasperated bellow came as no surprise to the other occupants in the room; they wisely plugged their ears, sat back, and prepared, as all veterans would, to weather the storm.

"Have you no manners?!" Kagome yelled, incensed, at the gluttonous hanyou who had, just by being who he was, instigated the current situation. On her feet, hands planted on her hips, Kagome glared furiously at the seated Inuyasha, who watched her with cake crumbs on his cheeks. "Why do you always shove food into your big, gaping piehole without even _attempting_ to enjoy how it tastes?! Does all my work, my hours of cooking, really mean so little to you?! How can…This is..._YOU ARE SO INSENSITIVE!!_"

Inuyasha's ears pressed against his head to protect his hearing from permanent damage. "Oi," he protested, glancing at the others for support or help, but they guiltily averted their eyes. They weren't willing to risk their lives to her wrath, even if she _was_ acting uncharacteristically touchy. "Would you tone it down already?"

Subtlety wasn't Inuyasha's forte.

"Tone _this_ down!" Furious, Kagome threw the pot of water that had been heating over the fire at Inuyasha, ignoring his yelp as hot water splashed onto him, soaking into his haori and splattering into his eyes. Heedless of any serious harm she could have caused him, Kagome stormed out of the hut and stalked alone into the night.

"Chikusho." Cursing, Inuyasha watched the woven mat that covered the doorway settle slowly from Kagome's vicious exit. He swiped a hand across his face and tucked his hands in his lap, blinking a trickle of warm water out of his eye.

And he was silent.

Sango glanced at Miroku; both shared a worried look with Shippo. Even Kirara added a soft "meow" of concern. Clearing her throat, Sango asked carefully, "Um, Inuyasha? Aren't you going to…say anything?" It wasn't like the moody hanyou to be so quiet after a fight with Kagome.

He shifted an inscrutable glance across the fire at his friends and traveling companions. "Why bother? It's all my fault, anyway." He mocked them, using the words they had so often tossed at him after one of his many quarrels with Kagome.

Wincing slightly at his words, at the bitterness behind them, Sango sent the monk another look. This did not bode well. Not only was their young friend from the future suffering from an extreme case of oversensitivity—even for her—but Inuyasha was in one of his inexplicable emotional swings.

Unnoticed, Shippo made a mark on a folded sheet of paper he kept tucked in the pouch where he stored his most prized possessions. This was the sixth time in three weeks, he noted, that Inuyasha's and Kagome's bad moods had overlapped, and it couldn't have been mere coincidence. It wasn't nearing the night of the new moon, nor was it Kagome's "that time of the month"—neither could be assigned blame for their bad tempers. Shippo frowned as he hid his paper. What happened between them that aligned his two friends' frequent spats so regularly?

Sighing softly, Sango said, "Well, that may be true, Inuyasha…But I don't think that's the answer here. Kagome-chan seemed especially…tense…today." Her reaction to Inuyasha's normal eating habits—atrocious as they were—_had_ been a little over-the-edge.

Miroku agreed, urging Inuyasha to go find Kagome. "Inuyasha. You hadn't done anything to trigger Kagome-sama's anger this time, so it's obvious that there must be something else bothering her. Besides. I'm worried about her wandering outside of the village alone at night. It's not safe, not for anyone, and especially for unarmed young girls…"

"Well, _she_ knows that!" Inuyasha's unpredictable temper flared, and he lurched to his feet, glaring at his companions. "As if it isn't obvious where she went—back to _her_ time to sulk and curse my existence." He stuttered to a halt, as if he were going to add something else. Instead, he swore again and stomped out of the hut.

There was a tense silence, and then Miroku shrugged and philosophically reached for another slice of Kagome's homemade double-chocolate cake. "They'll get over it. They always do," were his only words of wisdom, and, in reluctant agreement, Sango allowed him to feed her a bite of the delicious foreign dessert.

Inuyasha couldn't sit still, so he prowled the nighttime forest and brooded over his thoughts. What Sango had said—that Kagome had been unusually uptight—had been true. To a point. They didn't know that Kagome had spent a total of three hours, thirty-two minutes on the cake—not including shopping time—and had agonized over decorating it perfectly for another half hour. _He_ knew.

Since he'd followed her through the well, mostly to keep her company while her family was away on vacation, partly to keep himself happy by having her in view, he knew _exactly_ what it had taken to make that one dumb cake. And, in her eyes, the fact that he _knew_ made him three times the insensitive beast for not taking the time to eat it slowly.

He also had the answer to Shippo's question—not that Inuyasha knew it was Shippo's question, or even that the little kitsune was keeping notes on him. His bad moods coincided with Kagome's on the days that they had private time together. Oh, neither one _tried_ to antagonize the other. It just sort of…happened. In a roundabout fashion.

Usually, Inuyasha thought sourly, by one or the other just being themselves.

Today had been rough. He'd tried, he'd tried so very hard, to be good, to not do anything to annoy her. And he'd succeeded all the way up to the point when they were walking back to Kaede's village from Kagome's little cooking expedition.

She'd left her hand in his after he'd taken it to help her out of the well. That had made her smile and skip a little down the path.

It had made him nervous, uncomfortable, and edgy.

When he'd finally lost his patience with the kind-and-loving routine, Kagome had turned those wide, soft eyes on him. He'd winced at the hurt, searching expression on her face, in her gaze, her voice a quiet stab to his aching heart.

_"Why do we always fight when we both want the same thing?"_

His throat had tightened; he'd released her hand to tuck his into the hidden safety of his long sleeves. Looking away, he'd stared into the surrounding foliage and muttered, "Maybe…maybe neither of us has what the other _needs_."

But she had him nailed. It was both disconcerting and poignantly touching to know she understood him so well. Something…something indescribable, close to relief, comfort, joy that someone cared about him that much.

"You want someone to stay," she'd murmured, turning to face him. "You want someone who won't leave you, or hurt you. Who'll accept you as you are, not ask you to change. Who will just stay with you no matter what happens between you two. Someone who can make you laugh and make you smile. Someone who has the power to make you cry…but won't." Understanding reached her, and she'd blinked. "You're afraid."

_Afraid of love._ He'd scowled, stalked away. "Shut the hell up." And then remembered, only belatedly, to deny her statement. "Am not."

_Terrified._ Inuyasha heaved a sigh and launched himself easily into the branches of a tree far enough removed from the path that the others wouldn't be able to find him easily. But close enough for him to know if Kagome came back.

_If._

Inuyasha's mouth went dry as his heart stopped beating for one petrifying minute.

_And if she doesn't?_

He scrubbed a hand over his face, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Nobody had the answer to that question.

Nobody wanted to hear the answer if it existed.

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha dragged another breath into fear-tight lungs, and fought the loneliness of abandonment that lurked just beyond his defenses.

And he fought alone.

* * *

8.2.04

NOTES: Another fic that was finished and uploaded on the same day! This is part one of an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while, and only last night got it to have a decent beginning. I promise, I'll get to the InuyashaKagome romance bit in the next chapter…and I'll explain the title. It's not much of a secret if you know what to look for, but I hope I'll keep the surprise a little longer. =)


	2. Frustration

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I would be rich.  I am not rich.  Therefore, I do not own Inuyasha.

**Hanyou**** Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter Two:**

**Frustration**

* * *

"Idiot. Moron. Ingrate. Wretch." Kagome's stream of foul-tempered curses hadn't slackened all day and, amazingly enough, she had yet to repeat herself. "Loser. Pig. Freak." Cross-legged on the living room floor, Souta heaved an exaggerated sigh of intolerance as her ceaseless invectives ruined his moment of virtual reality triumph as his character finished pounding his opponent into a twitching lump.

"Neechan," Souta protested imploringly as she paused for breath. "You've been like that ever since you got home last night. Can't you please stop? You can't possibly think up enough insults to fill three entire days."

Kagome nearly snapped back a cocky "Yes, I can" at what she misinterpreted as a challenge before she caught the last of his sentence. "Three days?" she repeated, wary. "And what happens in three days?"

Souta had already started the next round, and he explained distractedly, "Hm? Oh, Inu-no-niichan will come pick you up, just like he always does. He'll probably apologize for something that wasn't his fault, you'll smile and forgive him, and then you'll go back through the well." He cast her one quick glance, his expression clearly stating that he thought the situation was obvious. "Just like he's done every time before."

She bristled at his unwarranted commentary. "Men," she snorted rudely. "Of course you'd take his side and say it wasn't his fault. You don't even know what he did." It wasn't even worth protesting the three-day time limit, even though she thought it only applied to the duration she stayed to take tests. But then again, she mused wonderingly, it _was_ true…He _did_ always come three days later…

"So?" Souta won another set and shot Kagome a speculative look over his boyish, victorious grin. The gleam in his eyes was entirely too mature for a little boy; and with a start, Kagome realized he was growing up. It was hard not to think of him as the same child, trapped in time, as he'd been when she'd first traveled through the well months before.

"What is it that Inuyasha did?"

There was something almost disbelieving in his voice, and Kagome spluttered in instant objection to his obvious conviction that Inuyasha had done no wrong.

But she couldn't think of what he had _done_ that had instigated her wrath.

Nothing but be himself.

"Er, well…" At Souta's knowing smirk, Kagome growled warningly but, seeing no way to win the situation, changed the subject. "Anyway. What are you doing home already? Mama said you'd be gone until tomorrow."

The glance he sent her let her know that he knew full well that she was avoiding admitting that, whatever they had fought over, it hadn't been Inuyasha's fault. "Well, a storm moved in just as we got there, so the bus driver turned around and got us all back to the hotel. He said it was either go home or be stuck there as long as the bad weather did. So Mama decided we'd go later, maybe in the spring." He pouted unhappily but shrugged.

Then asked, "Doesn't he like you?"

"_WHAT?!_" Kagome's yell had Souta abandoning his game—the battle for his life took precedence over the battle on-screen—and scrambling under the table for protection. Kagome's voice was tight with embarrassment and fury. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Why was she so touchy? Souta winced as the computer proceeded to maim his character. "I just thought…you just got in a fight with Inu-no-niichan in a hurry, that's all. Usually you stay there a while, first; _then_ you come back in a huff."

Wrong choice of words. Souta cringed, tucking his head under his arms, as Kagome let loose her truly awesome rage. "**_DOES IT LOOK TO YOU LIKE I'M IN A 'HUFF'?!_**"

He knew a rhetorical question when he heard one, and wisely kept his mouth shut.

Kagome marched purposefully into the kitchen, intent on bashing around a few pots and pans to improve her mood, but the sight of the cooking implements merely brought on a new height of fury.

"Creep. Fool. Asshole." She flung herself out the kitchen, out the front door. "Oaf. Klutz. Bastard. Dog." Her glare fixed itself on the giant sacred tree in the yard, usually a source of comfort but now just another reminder of a certain gods-cursed hanyou. "Dumb tree," she muttered, angrily kicking a rock at the thick, straight trunk.

"Kagome!" Her grandfather's voice was sharp. He was normally a kind-hearted man, if prone to rambling about the mythical relevance of this artifact or that, but he was an imposing figure when seriously angry. And he was deadly serious when it came to blasphemy against all things holy.

"_Bachi__ ga ataru_," he admonished, wagging a threatening finger at her. Kagome knew better than to roll her eyes while he could still see her. She loved her grandfather dearly, but she could only take so much of his superstitions, really. "You be careful of what you show respect around here. The Goshinboku—" he bowed his head respectfully in deference to the massive, ancient tree "—is not to be treated lightly."

She bobbed her head in apology towards her grandfather and sighed. "Yes, Jiichan."

But she wasn't to get off so lightly. He was already babbling about the vindictive powers of the mighty tree that had been around for countless centuries. Kagome half-listened, her mind already wandering to other matters and only barely hearing his dire warning that the sacred tree, if truly offended, might even vent its displeasure at such blatant disregard to polite custom and manners by sending the _bachi_ to someone close to her instead of her directly. A roundabout revenge.

Kagome nodded her head politely. She knew all that already. She _had_ grown up on those shrine grounds, hadn't she? Shrine lore had been her bedtime stories until she was too old for bedtime stories. And even then, even now, her grandfather tried to recite to her those stories at every possible chance.

Kagome was saved by her mother and Souta coming out of the house. "Jiichan!" Souta's young voice carried easily on the still, late autumn air. "We're going shopping! Come on!"

He fixed Kagome with a final stern gaze before turning to accompany his grandson and daughter-in-law to the grocery store. "You apologize," he told her uncompromisingly, indicating the Goshinboku. "You weren't raised to forget your manners."

Kagome waved to her mom, waiting until they were out of sight before scowling. She shot the tree a glance. Not that she didn't believe it had special powers—it figured too prominently in her time travels to be dismissed as mere folklore or irrelevance.

But apologize?

She eyed it skeptically. "No," she decided aloud, "I just don't think so."

Taking the first step away was the hardest.

She could feel it weighing down on her.

_Bachi__._

Shaking off—attempting to—the odd sensation, Kagome headed back to the house to take a much-anticipated bath. With the rest of the family out, she'd have enough time for a leisurely soak in the tub with her favorite CD in the player before they returned to laugh at her singing along.

She was just past the well house when the door slid open. It was reflex that tore the first scream from her startled lungs as the figure lurched out of the shadows towards her.

It was heart-squeezing fear that had the second shriek out before she realized what her hysterics must be doing to the ears of the limp, convulsion-wracked form of one very sick hanyou who sprawled onto the sun-splashed yard at her feet.

"**_INUYASHA!!!_**"

And for the first time, the sound of his name from her lips produced no response whatsoever.

* * *

8.2.04

NOTES: So I finished this chapter quickly. Go me!

_Gomen__ nasai!_ I know I promised to get some InuyashaKagome stuff in this chapter, but in the sincere effort to keep all chapters roughly the same length, it has been postponed until chapter three. I've started that one, and I'll make it so Inuyasha is conscious for at least _part_ of the next installment. Sorry for the dumb cliffhanger, I don't enjoy them…really, I don't. Please believe me. Please.

**bachi ga ataru:** As far as I know, this has no English translation. It's roughly the same as "you've got it coming", or "what goes around, comes around". It literally means "bachi will hit you"; my dictionary babbles something about 'divine punishment from God'.

So, because Kagome was cursing the sacred tree, it's going to come back and get revenge on her. I made up the part about the revenge being taken on someone she loves, though, because it was essential to the plot. But I'm not sure if the Shinto Kami-sama believes in that sort of punishment…__


	3. Flu?

Disclaimer: I'll tell you a secret! furtive glance _Nobody_ owns Inuyasha. grins Can you imagine our beloved hanyou allowing someone to _own_ him? Nuh-uh… … All right, all right. Nobody…except Takahashi-san!

**Hanyou**** Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter Three:**

**Flu?******

* * *

Pain shot him out of his pleasant half-nap in the warmth of the late autumn sun and into the burning malevolence of reality. What had he done to deserve this? Inuyasha's breath choked on a sob as he plummeted off the tree branch and smacked the ground with a painful thud. Curling into a tight ball, eyes squeezed shut, Inuyasha gasped for air, every nerve burning in vicious agony stabbing out from the center of his body.

He couldn't form the thoughts enough to swear as broken branches scratched his face, caught at the loose fabric of his haori. Instinct kicked in, kicked reasoning out, and had him crawling on all fours down the unprotected path towards the only place where he knew he'd be safe.

_Kagome._

Something was ripping his guts out from the inside. With razor-edged claws of steel, bloodstained teeth bared as it tore through his intestines in sadistic glee. He gasped, eyes blurred with tears he wished he had the strength to damn to hell. Crying would do no good. Crying was humiliating.

Crying got him kicked and laughed at.

_Kagome won't laugh at me._

It was the thought of her, the memory of her, the beauty of her smile, that fueled the strength it took to haul his body over the edge of the well and tip himself into the welcome darkness.

It was a pitifully short drop before he felt, vaguely, the cool dryness of earth beneath his face and hands; it was a small eternity of weightless suspension in his own private, internal chamber of torture. Inuyasha lay, face-down, on the hard-packed dirt, hoping the weight of his own body on his stomach would subdue the glass-shard-toed demons dancing joyfully in and around his guts.

It didn't help. Inuyasha moaned and fixed bleary eyes on the top of the well. Kagome had what she called a "la-dder" against one wall for easier access to the well, but Inuyasha had never used it—never needed to. Swallowing a sob, Inuyasha dragged himself awkwardly, rung by endless rung, out of the dry well. Then, step by infinite step, to the door.

She was just on the other side. He could smell her, sweet and heady—like sunshine in a green field, an open forest, with the tangy undertones of her world scents; the white scent of soap, flowers, and fruits for hair and hands, and a spice that came from the very air on this side of the well.

His breath hissed out of his throat in a high-pitched whine; if he'd had a tail, he'd have kept it tucked half between his legs. He could remember, through the thick, roaring wall of pain, that Kagome had been mad at him when she left. He was too early to come take her back—days too early. She would still be mad at him. And yet…

He needed her. Just like that.

He got the door open—one small miracle—and staggered into the eye-stabbing sunlight. An unearthly shriek, of fear, of worry, jolted through his body, and he collapsed forward onto the ground. His muscles quaked with the effort it had taken to get this far, and his brain slipped smoothly into darkness.

It was up to Kagome now. It was in her that he placed his utmost trust.

Kagome worked frantically, her hands steady, her mind blank, as she forced away her panic. Inuyasha needed her to do this, to stay calm and deal with the situation. She couldn't fail him.

So her movements were economical as she pressed a damp cloth to his clammy forehead, dabbing at the sweat on his face despite the chills that ravaged his body. Listening to his tortured moans, feeling the tremor of ice-cold muscles beneath her hand, Kagome struggled to strip off his stained and soiled haori, tossing it irreverently aside before heaping her winter-weight blankets over him.

He thrashed violently, just once, as the restricting weight of the blankets draped over his body. Kagome put her hands on his shoulders in restraint, his pained, incoherent mumbles tearing at her heart. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his icy forehead. "Shh," she murmured, fighting the resurgent wave of apprehension as her hands carefully patted the blankets down around his body. "Shh, Inuyasha. It's all right. I'm here."

He whimpered, his eyes opening partway to peer fuzzily at her face. Kagome's throat shut completely at the confused, lost, blurry look in those beautiful golden depths.

And he didn't know her.

It ripped at her heart, but Kagome willed herself to accept it. He was delirious, violently ill. He probably didn't even remember his own name.

What would one measly human girl matter to him?

"You just relax, okay?" She indulged herself, running her fingers through his gloriously thick, sweat-damp bangs for comfort. "I'll go get a thermometer."

He could hear her. Strained, falsely optimistic, undercurrents of fear. His arm protested viciously as he lifted one barely functional arm to bump clumsy fingers against her cheek, confused by the weight of the limb. What was wrong with him? She was so pretty…so worried…so much like…

"…Mom."

She sniffled, ducked her head as she firmly tucked his arm beneath the blankets. If he mistook her as his mother, she wouldn't try to correct him. Whatever gave him comfort. "Yeah," she whispered sadly. "I'll be right back.

Inuyasha tried to call after her, but she was already away and down the hall. Why had Kagome sounded so sad? Did he say something wrong? He struggled against the oppressive weight of pain that draped over his body, pressing down on his lungs and jabbing into his stomach, and was helpless to do anything more than wait for her return.

He wasn't breaking his promise, Kagome told herself fiercely as she rummaged through the bathroom cabinets for the oral thermometer and the sterile plastic covers. She'd give the more conventional ear thermometer a shot, but she wasn't sure if she could trust it. He _did_ have rather unusual ears…maybe they were unreliable measures of body temperature.

_But he promised…no matter what…he wouldn't forget me._

"It's not his fault," Kagome repeated stubbornly, shaking her head to knock away the unwanted thoughts. "It's not his fault if can't remember me. It's not his fault if he's sick."

_Bachi__._

"It's mine," Kagome realized with a sob, pressing her face against the mirror, feeling the cold glass against her forehead. "My fault."

She didn't know how long she let herself wallow in self-pity, but it was too long. With a deep breath, she pulled back, hastily splashed water onto her face, and collected the necessary supplies. If Inuyasha had been the receiving end of her _bachi_, then she'd just have to do whatever it took to make him better.

His breathing was shallow, rasping pants through dry, parted lips. Kagome hurried to his side, swiping impatiently at her eyes. She'd drawn her curtains, casting the room into a dusky half-darkness; it wouldn't do to trip over something and fall over him.

He was in enough pain without her help.

Inuyasha struggled a little as she placed one hand on his head to hold him still. "Don't move, Inuyasha," she murmured, trying not to wiggle the thermometer in his ear. "I have to see if you've got a fever."

The idiot thermometer was giving her some idiot reading—something around forty degrees—and Kagome threw the offending, useless piece of junk across the room. "We'll do it orally, then," she explained to the wild-eyed hanyou who stared blindly around the room. "You want music?"

Maybe a song would keep him calm while she held the thermometer under his tongue. It occurred to her only distantly that Inuyasha didn't need to be treated like a baby, didn't need lullabies to soothe his frazzled nerves, but she moved to her stereo nonetheless. Flipping the volume low, she chose from her collection one of the quieter tunes.

Perhaps the music could help _her_.

She laid Inuyasha's head on her lap, holding the plastic-encased glass stick under his tongue as the soft opening chords picked up. To her relief and surprise—who'd have thought Inuyasha would like J-pop?—he relaxed against her, eyes closed, as his body trembled from occasional shakes of pain.

_ kimi wo sou zutto wasurenai yo I'll never forget you_

_ten__ to chi ni sotto hanasaretemo not even if the sky and earth were separated_

_negai__ ga hitotsu kanau no naraba I have one wish, if only it could come true_

_mou__ ichido…kimi ni aitai I want to see you…one more time _

_It was a nice song._ Inuyasha's thoughts were disjointed, disorienting. _He agreed with the singer's sentiment. And, by the way, Kagome had been crying._ Inuyasha recognized the scent of salt on her skin, smelled the evidence of her attempts to wash away her tears. And through the confusion, the sharp, ceaseless agonies chewing through his intestines, he felt the familiar stomach-clenching guilt settle in companionably beside the clawed devil dancing through his belly.

He'd made her cry.

"…orry." Words were difficult to form and force out, his efforts doubly hampered by the thermometer in his mouth. "Sorry."

She made a suspicious, wet-sounding sniff before replying, "You shouldn't talk, Inuyasha. Wait until we're done." She didn't know why he was apologizing—probably for some sort of misplaced guilt—and let her fingers brush his ears. She'd have to leave the thermometer in a while longer to adjust for Inuyasha's…uniqueness. Human thermometers probably weren't calibrated for hanyou.

They lapsed into a silence, Inuyasha shivering periodically despite the sweat dripping down his face from the sweltering blankets covering his body, obviously fighting whatever was causing him so much distress. Kagome peered at the markings etched onto the glass and frowned in disbelief. No, that still wasn't right. She opened her mouth to tell Inuyasha they'd have to do it again when a strange, pleasant hum filled the air, low and in harmony with the music.

It was warm, soothing, and full-throated. And definitely didn't come from anything mechanical.

It took Kagome a moment to realize it came from Inuyasha.

She smiled fondly at him, glad his eyes were closed so he wouldn't see the tender look she sent him. It was embarrassing, would be embarrassing if he ever found out how much he meant to her…But, still, it was sort of endearing to hear him humming with the song. She never would have thought Inuyasha was in any way musically inclined, but he found ways to surprise her even when he was afflicted with this mysterious illness.

"All right." The song ended, and Kagome decided it was time to remove the thermometer and make a proper reading—just in case she wasn't seeing the numbers correctly. She squinted closely to read the numbers. And felt like growling. "How can you be running a fever of thirty-nine degrees when you are _freezing cold_?"

As if in answer to her muttered question, Inuyasha shivered, then looked up at her with what could only have been adoration in unfocused, sleep-bleary eyes. "Love you," he murmured, once again reaching up to touch her face—for reassurance, maybe, Kagome thought as she sat very still, her eyes nervously following the motion of his claws as he ineptly slid his hand into her hair. He wasn't talking to her, she told herself. He was talking to who he _thought_ was his mother.

And continued to be very still, holding her breath until she thought her chest would pop under the stain, as his eyes narrowed in concentration. Inuyasha fought to make himself understood over, under, around, through—whatever it took—the overwhelming waves of pain.

She _would_ know, if he had to rip out his own intestines to rid himself of the small tummy demons and be able to speak.

He stared at Kagome with such intensity she sat back on her heels in surprise. His gaze was momentarily, frighteningly clear, and he gripped her hand in his. "_Not_ Mom. _Like_ Mom. Love you…" The last syllables drifted off into an inaudible, wheezing breath as the pain won and tromped over his brief moment of coherence.

But one moment was all it took.

"Kago…me…"

* * *

8.3.04

NOTES: Well. Getting there. The Kagome-Mom confusion comes because Inuyasha _wants_ to say that Kagome is _like_ his mother. Not that he ever thinks she _is_. Kagome, however, thinks that Inuyasha thinks she's his mom. You see? =)

I hope this was a much more acceptable ending that that hideous cliffy in chapter 2!!

Song lyrics stolen without remorse from **w-inds.**, my all-time favorite J-pop boy band! Love you! giggles madly Sorry. The song is "_Dedicated to You_", part of their third, and newest, album, _Prime of Life_. Lyrics and translation thanks to Cecil at Doomo desu!


	4. Fever

Disclaimer: I'll own Inuyasha, yes, I will! As soon as I copy those legal documents…

**Hanyou**** Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter Four:**

**Fear**

* * *

Kagome hovered anxiously as her mother checked Inuyasha a final time before retiring for the night. Higurashi Sayoko glanced at her daughter and nearly sighed. The poor girl was all but wringing her hands in pure feminine distress; Kagome's iron-reigned composure had crumbled as soon as Sayoko had returned in the late morning, and she had been reduced to endless and petty qualms throughout the afternoon. Kagome's fervor to help Inuyasha had, at times, seemed to be counterproductive and detrimental to Sayoko's attempts to improve Inuyasha's condition.

Especially her rather inappropriate suggestion that they take his temperature rectally for accuracy.

"He looks as comfortable as he's going to be tonight," Sayoko comforted her daughter, standing and giving Kagome a gentle pat on the shoulder. Noting the fatigue in the young girl's eyes, Sayoko added firmly, "Kagome. He will be fine. You need your rest. You won't do him any good if you're exhausted."

Wiping leaky eyes, too tired from the day's anxieties to hold back the tears, Kagome asked her mom pleadingly, "He'll be better in the morning, won't he, Mama? He'll be okay, right?"

There was a depth of emotion in Kagome's eyes that any mother would feel uneasy seeing in her fifteen-year-old child's eyes. Sayoko coughed lightly and cast Inuyasha's restlessly sleeping form a narrow-eyed glance. She and the boy would need to have a serious talk about rights and responsibilities and keeping his hands off _her daughter_, and soon.

Very soon.

She coughed again. But that was getting off topic. Looking straight into Kagome's eyes, Sayoko stressed, "_Yes_, Kagome. He will be _fine_. I don't know what he's sick with, so I can't guarantee his condition will improve overnight, but…" Her daughter looked on the brink of some complete emotional breakdown, so she hastened to reassure her. "He's strong, your friend. And he's a fighter. He'll get through."

_He'd better._ He was long overdue for that talk.

Sayoko turned to go, then stopped, frowning. She glanced back at Kagome, PJ-clad, kneeling by Inuyasha's head. Her gaze traveled the short distance between Inuyasha's futon, on the floor, and Kagome's bed, blankets already turned down, ready for the night. "I don't like these sleeping arrangements," she murmured.

Kagome had been thoroughly oblivious to her mom's continued presence in the room. "Wha—?" Her head snapped up, eyes following her mother's. She, too, frowned thoughtfully. "Hm. Maybe you're right, Mama. Do you think I should set up a sleeping bag or something down here?" She indicated the floor beside the fitful hanyou.

Sayoko's eyes could have popped from her head. "NO!" Her response was a little too quick, a little too forceful, and had Kagome gaping at her. "No," Sayoko softened her words with a poorly attempted smile. "I think…You'll sleep better in your bed, honey. Now get some rest."

"All right." Kagome ascribed her mother's wacky behavior to stress, tiredness, or maybe a lingering reaction to that dumb idea about taking his temperature…through his…

Kagome flushed, and she cast Inuyasha an embarrassed glance. Good thing he'd been unconscious then. How utterly mortifying. With a sigh, she patted his shoulder lightly, whispered a casual good-night, and flicked off the lamp as she crawled into bed. Worry did strange things to her sanity, her head—and her heart.

_He was running. He was always running. It didn't matter if he ran towards a goal, an enemy, the next fight, or away from his pursuers. He could never, never outrun the memory, the tears, the pain. The humiliation._

_He'd stopped running the day he met her. Inuyasha, even in his fitful sleep, mumbled quietly as his lips curved into a gentle smile. She'd grounded him—literally, with one damn word and the magic of the rosary bound around his neck—and kept him tethered to her._

_Naturally, he'd fought the tether, at first. He'd cursed its boundaries, cursed her existence, convinced himself he hated her for it. But it was, in reality, all a lie, and he'd always know it, somewhere hidden deep in his consciousness. He couldn't hate her._

_He loved her._

_"Yes, Inuyasha, love her."_

_Inuyasha__ stirred restlessly as dark clouds bloomed over his dreams, shading the peaceful scenes that had dominated the first few minutes of his rest. The all-too familiar laugh, that disgusting odor, pervaded his senses, and he thrashed out, a call catching in his throat._

He_ had her._

_Naraku__ always claimed his goal was to gain power, fueled by greed, revenge, a twisted sense of need—no different than any other of the legion of evil men on the planet. But under it all, Naraku just wanted to see his greatest foe, Inuyasha, suffer._

_"And what would you do for the one you love?" His filthy hands were all over her as she screamed, protesting, fighting the mysterious, invisible bonds created by the power that Inuyasha's fever-fogged mind bestowed upon Naraku. "What would you do to protect her?"_

_Her wide, terrified eyes met his, and she begged him, in a voice filled with pain, to say her name. Just…say her name._

_And he couldn't remember._

_He choked on the words; in some part of his brain, Inuyasha _knew_ it was just a dream. But that knowing didn't lessen the gut-ripping, knee-buckling fear as her name danced just out of reach. _Gods, don't let this happen,_ he begged as the smell of her blood—sharp and metallic, harsh in his nostrils, and oh-so-real—blinded his senses._

_Naraku__ smirked as he dug his fingers into her skin, letting her shrieks of pain echo across the land, reverberate through Inuyasha's skull._

_"Too bad, Inuyasha."__ He dragged his fingers along the side of her neck, over her shoulder, down her chest, exposing ripped flesh as his hands roamed over her body. "You're just not good enough for her…"_

His own silent screams jolted him awake, and it was to steel-edged pain that he felt his senses resume their waking functions. His heart pounded unevenly, his body drenched in sweat, his eyes jerking wildly across the ceiling. The muted light was pale, and Inuyasha's muddled, frantic internal clock registered early predawn. His ears caught the sounds of peaceful breathing from somewhere to his right, slightly elevated—Kagome, tucked safely into her bed—_not_ caught in Naraku's trap, _not_ bleeding and dying before his eyes as he watched helpless.

_Just a dream.__ Just a nightmare._

Reality struck with cheerful persistence. The vindictive little devils were still there, digging teeth, claws, and their many sharp instruments of torture into weak, pain-bruised muscle.

Inuyasha lay still on his futon, feeling uncomfortably hot, sweaty. He struggled away from the jellifying terror of the nightmare, forcing himself to focus on the present. Dream-memories were faint, all but the last merely indistinct blurs of sound and smell and feel, all buried under present and remembered agony from his dumb stomach. Maybe he _had_ eaten too fast, after all, he thought, and had gotten indigestion.

The result of that was that the call of nature was distressingly persistent.

Sighing, Inuyasha flipped back the covers and slowly staggered to unsteady feet, stumbling as quietly as possible out of Kagome's room and down the hall. He didn't like the bathroom—small; covered in shiny, bright tile that hurt the eyes and amplified noise; smelling overpoweringly of soaps, cleansers, disinfectants, and the like.

He leaned weakly against the counter in the unlit room, his bladder relieved. The pain had yet to recede, but it had eased a little, somehow bearable now as it hadn't been the night before. Pausing to catch his breath, Inuyasha cast the white object in the corner—a 'tub', Kagome had called it—a glance, wondering if maybe a bath would make him feel better.

It always seemed to work for Kagome.

With a small, wincing shrug that pulled at stiff muscles, Inuyasha peered a moment at the sliver handles through the darkness before giving them a yank. Rewarded by the thunderous downpour of rapidly heating water, Inuyasha plugged the drain and stripped off his clothes—his haori, with Tetsusaiga, was still somewhere in Kagome's room, he supposed—and dropping them in a pile on the floor.

Exhaustion slammed into him, and Inuyasha groaned gratefully as he lowered his battered body into the loving embrace of the steaming water. The heat scalded his skin, washed away sweat and his carefully accumulated and preserved protective layer of dirt, and soothed both body and mind. Even the stomach demons relaxed as he sloshed water over his chest.

Heavy-eyed, he sank deeper into the water, shutting off the tap. The heat fuzzed his tired brain, wrapping him in a warm cocoon of safety. His eyes slid half-shut, and he sighed deeply as his thoughts rambled. His illness-borne dreams swarmed his consciousness, fragments of nightmares that sent an involuntary shudder through him even as he shifted lower in the water. Some he recognized as old memories—flashbacks of his younger days. Others were twisted half-truths, perversions of things he struggled to remember.

Many were just plain lies. Lies brought by his subconscious guilt, his ever-present fear that someday, something would happen to Kagome…and he just wouldn't be fast enough.

The water lapped at his chin, and he mumbled something incoherent as he tipped back his head to slide fully under the water. _Just one minute,_ he thought as he shut his eyes in defense against the hot water. _Just one minute…then I'll be up. I promise._

The water closed over the top of his head, and he was just too tired to respond to the reflexive alarm that squealed in his head. Hot liquid forced its way down his throat, into his lungs, but the pervading warmth comforted him from the new sense of burning agony.

And his last conscious thoughts were slow, and drugged, safely ensconced in the muted tones of underwater bliss.

* * *

8.5.04

NOTES: I don't quite have the dream sequence down, I apologize. I understand it would make more sense if Inuyasha were the one to hurt Kagome, having forgotten who she was (it's a recurring nightmare for those two, isn't it?) but I figured I'd just break tradition. Naraku's gotta play some part of Inuyasha's fevered dreams, shouldn't he?__

And don't worry. I won't let him drown. =)


	5. Fear

Disclaimer: Unless I rename my dachshund "Inuyasha" (highly unlikely, as she barely responds to "princess-baby" as it is, _and_ she's a female), I don't own any Inuyasha.

**Hanyou**** Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter Five:**

**Fear**

* * *

Kagome woke to the distinctly disturbing sensation that something wasn't right. She frowned at the ceiling, trying to pinpoint the source of her unease, but it danced just out of reach. She sighed loudly in frustration, swiping an impatient hand through her sleep-tousled hair as she sat up. If she was up anyway, she might as well put her time to good use and check on…

_Inuyasha__._

Oh, Kami-sama. Kagome stared at the empty futon as if her eyes were playing tricks on her. "Yeah, right, Kagome," she chided herself sarcastically, her brain still not registering the gravity of the situation. "If you blink just one more time, he'll reappear. Whoops, just a little bit of bad lighting here…"

Panic gave every neuron in her stunned brain one good, hard jerk by their dangling axons, and she bolted out of the room, forcing sleep-heavy limbs to respond to the adrenaline coursing in her blood. Her door was open, reaffirming the fact that he had gone…somewhere. Somewhere.

_But where?_

"Oh, Kami-sama," Kagome whispered aloud through a fear-stricken throat, her heart bouncing jaggedly in her chest as she dashed out the front door for the Goshinboku. "Inuyasha…" His first impulse—hers, too, it seemed—would have been to go outside, be outdoors, high up in a tree branch.

But he wasn't there.

He couldn't have been there, Kagome realized as she dashed back into the house and performed a frantic, in-depth search of every downstairs room. The front door had been locked, and all the windows were closed—he couldn't have left the house. It was a small relief to know he wasn't out wandering the early morning streets of Tokyo, lost and delirious, hazarding the perils of automobile traffic, pedestrians, cops, and whatever else he'd be faced in the modern-day world.

_So where is he?_ Kagome called his name quietly as she paused at the foot of the stairs, straining for his response. If he had fallen somewhere, maybe rolled under a table she hadn't checked, or was hiding—thinking it was a game, perhaps? Not that she ever knew Inuyasha to play games—she didn't want to chance missing him just because he hadn't heard her call for him.

Worry began to recede as the familiar, welcome feeling of annoyance set in. "Inuyasha no _baka_," she growled, kicking at the closed bathroom door as she passed on her way to Souta's room. Inuyasha had a soft spot for her brother as large as that ketchup stain on her old white blouse, and she figured that maybe, just maybe, the big idiot had decided to spend some quality time with the little boy.

The bathroom door was closed.

_Kami-sama__._

They _never_ left the bathroom door closed.

Her brain simply stopped functioning, switching off nicely as her hand closed over the handle, as she gave it a twist and ripped open the door without a single thought towards proprietary behavior or what she might find. Her breath strangled in her throat as her half-formed prayer sprang to frozen lips. _Let Inuyasha be…_

Naked. Drowning. Lying in the tub.

Kagome felt her eyes widen…felt her throat release an ear-piercing scream…and slammed the door shut.

Heart thumping altogether too rapidly, Kagome felt heat flush her face as she leaned back against the door and struggled for breath. Jeez. That was…she blocked the image from her mind—though couldn't quite put enough force behind her promise to block it from her memory forever to sound credible—and yanked the door open again.

She moved swiftly, with a speed and coordination borne of desperation. She wouldn't let Inuyasha die; she _couldn't_. She ripped a towel off the rack, throwing it straight into the tub and over Inuyasha's lower body to provide him with some modesty—whether for her sake or his, she wasn't sure. But there wasn't time to dwell on the thought as she wrapped her hands beneath his arms and hauled him out of the tub, laying him out on the floor.

And making sure the now-soaked towel was doing its job.

She had no time to appreciate overmuch the taut planes of his chest, the lean muscle that gleamed wetly in the light she'd hit as she'd burst into the room, the smooth skin that sent small tingles through her hands as she ran nervous palms over his chest to check for heartbeat. Her fingers pressed to his neck, checked for a pulse, but couldn't register the intake or exhale of breath.

Grunting, her mind one smooth, empty slate wiped clean by bowel-loosening terror, Kagome dragged Inuyasha to his knees, bracing his lower back against her own as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Any other time, she'd have noted the feel of his leanly muscled body between her arms. Any other time, she'd have felt the blush of embarrassment as his towel slipped dangerously low.

Any other time, however, he wouldn't have been on the brink of death.

Fisting her hands together, she positioned them at the center of his body, closed her eyes, and focused her energy on pumping water out of his body and forcing the air he so urgently needed back into his lungs. Once, twice…four times, Kagome counted with ragged gasps for breath. Five times. Was it normal to have to Heimlich-maneuver someone so many times? Six times. Inuyasha just _wasn't normal_. Seven.

Lucky charm number seven.

Inuyasha gagged loudly, his body lurching forward—dragging Kagome with him—as he choked up water and spit, coughing up whatever was in his abused stomach over the floor. His hands braced against the water-slick ground, his head pounding with a fierce ache that nearly overrode the buzzing in his ears and the almost playful twinge of his empty gut. The air was thick as honey as he fought to drag oxygen into burning lungs that felt as wrung out as old sponges.

And he smelled tears. Inuyasha's head whipped around—a motion that had his stomach rollercoasting queasily, a nauseating feeling that slicked gooey pain over the stabbing agony that reasserted itself with a merry little bare-knuckled jab into his abdomen.

Kagome was half-crouched, half-fallen beside him, her hair tangled and unruly around her tear-streaked face as her slim body shook with uncontrollable sobs of relief. She stared at him through long, wet lashes, the tears storming down her cheeks and dripping from her chin to fall to her thighs. And the look in her eyes, the pained, utterly grateful look that he was alive, damned him to a hell he didn't deserve.

_Love you…_

Weak and dizzy from the stomach pains and his recent resurrection; weak and dizzy with overwhelming guilt at having caused her so much pain, Inuyasha shifted to fold Kagome into his arms. Ignoring his stomach demons—kicking at them with a vicious oath—Inuyasha pressed his face weakly into her hair, settled his hands at the curve of her waist. Felt her arms wrap around his. Felt her turn her face into his water-sleeked chest. Felt her tears—hot, wet, damning—slide over bare skin.

"Sorry," he gulped air. "I'm sorry. Kagome. Don't cry." Panic had a chance to settle in around his roaring pain and the snarling fatigue. And her tears triggered his usual reaction, reducing him to a snarling, frightened mess of guilt and anger at her tears. "Stop it."

She smacked him, her fist accidentally, painfully, ramming dead-center into his kidneys. Recently reclaimed breath whooshed out of his lungs as she lifted her tear-stained face to his. "_You_ have _no right_ to be mad at _me_!" she sobbed, anger and the weakness that passed after gut-freezing terror slurring her voice. "I thought…You could have…You were…" Her sobs took over again, and Inuyasha pressed his lips to the top of her head, grateful only for this chance to hold her.

No matter what circumstances had brought them there. Whatever pain he had suffered…it had given him this chance to just hold her.

That alone was nearly enough.

"Baka," Kagome whispered, her arms tightening around his back, her fingers smoothing over his skin.

"Probably," he nodded agreeably with a pained half-smile. The world blurred around the edges, and he tugged urgently at a fistful of her hair. "Hey. Kagome. I gotta…I'm gonna…" Blackness spread through his mind and body. He didn't remember falling, but he knew she caught him, because his head never cracked against the ground.

He did manage, however, to alert her of his intention to pass out.

"Um…Bye."

Kagome's arms prevented him from making an irreparable dent in the floor. Her smile, trained only on his face, was tender as she stroked wet strands of hair out of his closed eyes. If not for the frenzied hurtling of her heart, the murky steam in the air, the uncomfortable wetness soaking into the seat of her pants, she could have enjoyed the moment she and Inuyasha had shared, the simplicity of the moment now as she ran her fingertips over his sleeping face.

And her mother's horrified shriek announced her arrival on the scene.

* * *

8.5.04

NOTES: This one was sort of muddled, I apologize. Minor InuyashaKagome moments between the vomiting, the swearing, the fainting, and the interruptions made by Mama. This will probably be my last installment of Inuyasha before I leave on Sunday.

Oh. And no worries, I haven't forgotten that throughout the entire little interlude in the bathroom, Inuyasha is _buck naked._

I just wanted to make sure that you didn't forget it either.

Two chapters (er, or two-chapters-as-planned) left to go! And I will eventually explain what was causing his stomachache.__


	6. Friends

Disclaimer: I didn't get Inuyasha, but I got a **NEW CAR!!!!** That's _almost_ as good. Oh, by the way, I don't own any of Takahashi-san's gang. Sorry for the misleading information indicating such…

To **demonrader33**-san: Yup! All the chapters start with the letter "f"; just something that hit me as I was starting to write this, and it stuck. Sorry, it has absolutely _no significance_ to the story whatsoever. )

**Hanyou Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter Six:**

**Friends**

* * *

Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly, and he groaned as bright light danced in through the thick curtains Kagome had closed over the window. He draped one arm across his face, blocking the thin streams of sun that tried to stab pain through his eyes and throbbing head. "Kagome?" There was no response to his dry-throated whisper, and he carefully squinted around the murky room for any signs of her presence, but her bedroom was as quiet and still as his stomach.

Finally.

Now it was empty. Not so quiet and still anymore, it grumbled as soon as his mind turned its thoughts in its direction. _About time you think about me,_ it was probably snarling. Inuyasha snorted, wincing as the derogatory sound and motion shot pain through his tender head. He was hallucinating about what his stomach, if it could speak, would say to him in his current position.

"You know," he growled, tossing aside the blankets and slowly sitting up, steadying the dangerously tipping world with careful claws, "it's _your_ fault I'm in this position to begin with!" It didn't occur to him that he really _was_ hallucinating, and was now speaking to his stomach as if it could respond. Inuyasha glanced around the room, squinting until his gaze fell upon his outer haori and Tetsusaiga, placed carefully against Kagome's desk chair.

Carefully picking his way down the stairs, one hand on the wall for support, Inuyasha took a tentative sniff of the air, making sure not to overload his tired brain with new scents. Kagome's mother had been here—he identified her soft, gentle scent—as had her little brother, Souta, who smelled of energy and grass, sort of like Shippo. Her grandfather had a smell of dusky incense and cotton, the unprocessed kind of the gi and hakama he habitually wore.

Kagome's own scent was faint, lingering on the still, quiet air of the hallway, leading out the front door. Inuyasha hesitated in the foyer, swaying on unsteady feet, debating whether to go out and find her or sit and wait for her to return. The insatiable need to be with her, to know she was beside him, won out, and he mentally kicked aside the niggling protests that she would be furious to see him up and walking about as he slid open the front door and headed towards the Goshinboku.

Instinct told him to seek out the sacred tree that had so long protected him from harm even before his eyes and his nose registered the fact that Kagome was kneeling in front of the great trunk, head bowed. Fear shot straight through Inuyasha's body, and he froze as a million thoughts tumbled through his head.

_She's not moving. She's hurt. What's wrong?_

And, first, last, foremost: **_Kagome._**

He didn't realize he'd been running towards her until her head jerked up at the sound of his rapid footsteps; didn't know his heart had stopped beating until it resumed its jerky pounding in his chest at the sight of her tear-shimmering eyes meeting his; didn't know he needed her that much until he stumbled, tripping over his leaden feet, and sprawled straight into her open arms.

"Ka…gome," he choked, relief flooding him in an irresistible wave of emotion. He hadn't really thought she'd abandon him, not after all they'd been through…had he?

His head and his heart, apparently, couldn't agree.

Her hands were stroking over his hair, over his back, soothing and comforting as she murmured into his ears, "Shh, Inuyasha, shh. It's all right now. I'm here. It's okay." He let out one long, shuddering sob, burying his face against her shoulder, as she gathered his limp form into her arms, her own heart wobbling at the panic that had shot through her body at the sight of him racing towards her. Who would have thought she needed him so much?

"You shouldn't be up," she said, but her voice was infinitely gentler than Inuyasha would have imagined as she scolded him lightly. He pulled himself into a sitting position, hastily wiping at the tears that had somehow trickled onto his face. Smiling, Kagome brushed her fingers over his cheeks, drying his tears; then repeated the process on her own face, the salty drops of water mingling on her fingertips. "I suppose you're feeling better?"

Inuyasha ignored her question, instead glancing towards the Goshinboku. "Why are you praying to the Goshinboku?" he asked, his tone reverent as he addressed the sacred tree.

To his surprise, she flushed, dropping her gaze guiltily. "Um…" She fidgeted, but finally relented under his silent query. "Well, when I first came back home, when I was still mad at you…I cursed the Goshinboku." She bowed her head in shame at Inuyasha's openly incredulous stare. "And Jiichan told me that I should apologize, or the Goshinboku might take its revenge on someone…on someone close to me, as punishment for my sacrilegious behavior. I didn't take him seriously, and then…" Her voice choked as tears filled her eyes again. "…Then you got sick, and…"

"Baka," Inuyasha scolded, but his voice was soft as he gathered Kagome's trembling body into his arms. She turned easily against his chest, resting comfortably in his embrace, and he sighed, his aching heart easing a little at the familiarity of the gesture. "I'm not cursed by the Goshinboku, Kagome. I don't…" He frowned at the tree, trying to sort through his thoughts to form something coherent. "I don't think it would ever take its revenge on me, if the Goshinboku even believes in taking revenge. We _did_ spend fifty years of our lives together, you know."

Kagome let out a watery giggle, rubbing her nose against the rough-soft material of his haori. "I suppose," she agreed reluctantly, raising her face to look up at him. "But if that wasn't what made you sick, what did?"

He shrugged. "Good question," he said, offering her a weak half-grin. "One day, I hope we'll know, right?" She nodded, convincing herself it was as acceptable an answer as any for the time being. They couldn't solve all the mysteries of the universe…Inuyasha cleared his throat and asked, slightly sheepish, "But, um, you know, I'm sort of hungry right now…"

Kagome smacked at his arm with her open palm, but the gesture was more symbolic than anything. "Mou, Inuyasha," she sighed as she disentangled herself from his arms and helped him to his feet, "You're one bottomless pit, you know that?"

He scrunched up his face comically at the statement, and Kagome laughed, relieved that he was feeling better now, much like his normal self. 'Normal' self, she corrected with a smile as she took his head. Sneaking a glance at him, she caught the sudden reddening of his cheeks at her overt gesture, and she suppressed another giggle. Things seemed to be getting better between them, she thought with a contented sigh as she led him back towards the house.

Not perfect, but better.

Inuyasha waited impatiently at the kitchen table while the water boiled and Kagome poured him a glass of juice. "Drink it," she ordered as he sniffed it suspiciously. "You need your fluids." He snorted and muttered something uncomplimentary about that, but took a reluctant sip at her stern glare. "Good. Now, after you eat, I think we'd better head back through the well to let Miroku and Sango and everyone know that you're okay. You didn't let them know where you went, did you?"

He shrugged, but worry and—maybe, must maybe—guilt passed briefly over his face. "No. But they're smart. They'll know where I went."

She arched an eyebrow. "Would they now? It hasn't been three days," she teased.

"Keh," they snorted together, and Inuyasha lifted surprised eyes to Kagome's face. She broke out into giggles, and he let a rare smirk turn up the corner of his lips. "You're silly," he said, but there was infinite affection in his voice. "Is the food ready yet?"

Kagome laughed at the wistful uplift of his question and handed him the steaming bowl of instant ramen. Sitting across the table from him, her chin propped in her hands, she watched him dive hungrily into the bowl, slurping happily at the noodles. Since she'd already eaten her own breakfast, she reached into the cabinet and pulled out her favorite snack. Pulling open the top of the plastic bag, she munched happily at the Pocky, pretending to ignore Inuyasha's quizzical glance.

"Ash's at?"

"Hm?" she feigned ignorance to his garbled question. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

Inuyasha swallowed and gestured at the chocolate-covered cracker sticks with his chopsticks. "That. What's that?"

She grinned and held it out to him. "Would you like one? It's called Pocky; they're really yummy." Inuyasha scrunched up his face in concentration, reached into the bag with his chopsticks, and managed to snag one of the long, narrow, cylindrical shaped crackers.

"Hah!" he grinned and managed to eat it in two bites. "Hm. Not bad." As Kagome started to protest, he smirked and stole another two. "Not bad at all." She huffed out a breath but settled down, content to share her food and her time with him.

"So." He looked at her seriously. "I thought I heard your mom scream last night when I passed out?" The memory was fuzzy, but he was certain he heard something loud and piercing just as Kagome had caught him before he fell face-flat on the tile floor.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah. She was rather…displeased…with the fact that I'd burst in on you when you were, um…" Her face flushed a deep red. "…you know, naked." That wasn't exactly the truth; Sayoko had been slightly more than _displeased_, and she had been more upset with Kagome having seen Inuyasha naked that the fact that she'd walked in on him.

"Um." Inuyasha busied himself with his food. He didn't want to think about…well, you know. Naked. "Yeah. Well. You didn't get in trouble?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. Mama helped me get you dressed again—" _offering a constant stream of criticisms about my behavior_ "—and lectured me throughout." He didn't need to know the details, and Kagome smiled lopsidedly. "She'll get over it, don't worry."

Inuyasha had slightly more important things to worry about than Sayoko's ability to 'get over' her displeasure with Kagome. _Kagome's mom saw me naked._ The thought was distinctly uncomfortable, and Inuyasha nibbled on another Pocky and tried to block the idea from his mind. "Um."

Kagome blushed and shrugged, guessing at Inuyasha's discomfort. Since there wasn't anything she could say to relieve his unease, she changed the subject. "So. When you're done, we can head on back, all right?" He nodded and shifted his attention back to his food. "I'll go up and grab my bag; I'll be right back."

Inuyasha slurped at his noodles, contemplating the sudden change in their relationship. True, he'd long suspected that they'd someday progress beyond their friendship, their uneasy truce of suspended reality…but not that it'd come about so soon, or in such a manner. He sighed, wishing that his trembling heart would hurry up and tip. It was the waiting that was the most painful, the most dangerous…the scariest. Kagome loved him; of that he was certain, as he'd rarely been certain of anything before.

Whether or not he loved her back…

He sighed, and shrugged, and stood up to drain the last of the noodle soup into the sink, then toss out the trash in the plastic-bag-lined bin beneath the sink. They'd find out together, he promised. Whatever else was between them, whatever else would come to pass, they'd find out what they had together. Inuyasha growled in irritation as the world spun dangerously; resting on hand on the top of the table for balance, he waited for the tilting to stop.

And his stomach lurched in an all-too-familiar sickening drop.

"Shit." Inuyasha dropped the bowl, barely feeling the splashing of hot water on his hand as the floor rose rapidly to meet him.

* * *

9.18.04

NOTES: I'm so, so, so incredibly sorry for the long break since my last update…It's been almost a month, hasn't it? I tried to tie up the last dangling end about the Goshinboku curse (which, again, I made up entirely), and I promise, this story is coming to a close. It's not going to drag on any longer. Inuyasha's thoughts about his relationship may have seemed to come out of nowhere, but I believe that he's not really certain about whether or not he "loves" Kagome. He likes her, yeah, but love? And how does Kikyo fit in here? So I tried to portray some of that uncertainty here.

The next chapter might be the last; it might have two more. Thanks for the awesome reviews!


	7. Forever

Disclaimer: I'm truly sad to let this one go. I hereby relinquish any and all rights to Inuyasha I have gained through means both illegal and immoral. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? )

**Hanyou Don't Get Sick**

**Chapter 7:  
****Three Days Forever**

* * *

Kagome let her fingers trail lightly through Inuyasha's thick bangs, hanging limply over his closed eyes. Her sigh was soft and relieved as she murmured to his sleeping form, "I'm glad we're finally through that, Inuyasha." The gut-wrenching terror of finding him on the floor, motionless and unconscious; the hours of terror-filled anxiety, of not knowing what had gone on...

And then his violent protests at finding himself in a 20th-century hospital.

She winced, glancing at the thick white bandage on her left forearm, covering the angry red slashes she'd received as a result of her stubbornness. It was mainly her fault, she conceded, refusing to blame the sleeping hanyou beside her. She should have known better than to put her arm in the way of his claws.

The fact that he'd been so mortified by his actions, so shocked and guilt-ridden that he'd wounded her, only intensified her own embarrassment. He'd apologized profusely, but Kagome had shushed him impatiently, the pain shortening her leash on her temper. He'd shushed pretty quickly after that, and had kept his silence until he'd fallen asleep in her bed only minutes before.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome winced as she moved her arm, sending pain lancing up her shoulder. "I'm sorry." It was okay to apologize, she thought with a wry half-smile, when he was asleep. When he couldn't hear her admit that she'd been wrong. "I'm sorry for everything."

The long hours of exhaustive, intensive worry finally caught up with her, and Kagome's head drooped to rest on the bedspread, her breathing soft and even.

Inuyasha's eyes were open, focused on the ceiling, as he carefully lifted his right hand to stare bleakly at his claws. They'd washed the blood off—_her_ blood off—but they couldn't wash away his guilt so easily. He flexed his fingers, wincing at the memory of the feel of his claws slicing easily through her human skin; the smell of her blood—hot, metallic, damning—soaked in shame.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," he murmured roughly, glancing down at her lowered head. And even after that, even after he'd attacked her, broken his promise to always keep her safe, she'd given up her bed—something he knew she didn't do easily—for him, saying only that it'd help speed up his recovery. Her wide brown eyes, focused on his, had been gentle and understanding.

It would have been easier if she'd looked at him with hate, blame, vengeance.

That he would have understood. That he could deal with. This ending understanding, this caring...it scared him. Inuyasha pressed his left hand to his shaking heart, listening to its uncertain stumbling as he carefully let his claws caress her head. "I'm so sorry," he whispered brokenly, tears springing unwanted to his fierce golden eyes. "I'm sorry, Kagome." It was okay to apologize when she could hear him only in her dreams. It was okay if she didn't know.

_She's going to ruin her back doing that,_ he thought, unnerved by the depth of the protectiveness that swept through him at the thought of Kagome spending all night, kneeling beside the bed. He sat up, leaning over the edge to carefully lift her onto the bed, taking care not to scratch her with his claws. Kagome mumbled quietly, but didn't waken; he slid her under the covers beside him and settled back down, prepared to sleep, and to protect Kagome as he'd failed to do before.

One hand resting lightly, awkwardly, on her shoulder, Inuyasha drifted off into a restless, uncomfortable sleep filled with nightmares and curses of the past.

Kagome woke slowly, her consciousness stirred by the warmth at her side. Turning sleepily, she mumbled an incoherent protest at an imagined wake-up call, snuggling closer to the source of the heat. Confused, her eyes flickered open, and Kagome blinked at the bright red cloth before her eyes. _Red?_

Her gaze traveled slowly up, past the familiar rosary beads draped loosely around the familiar neck, to the face that had haunted her dreams all night. Inuyasha was facing her, his face relaxed in sleep, ears flicking back and forth in agitation.

She blushed at the realization that he had one arm draped around her waist.

How had she ended up in bed with him? Kagome frowned, unable to recall how she'd managed to be beneath the covers with him; her blush spread as she noted just what position she was in. Sharing a bed, with Inuyasha. While the thought in and of itself wasn't repelling, the idea that her mother or her brother might barge in on them and get the wrong idea certainly wasn't appealing.

Quietly, so as to not disturb him, Kagome slipped out from beneath the covers and pressed her hands firmly over her wrinkled skirt. She'd fallen asleep in her daytime clothes, and—thankfully, she noted with suppressed relief—was still wearing her entire outfit. She rubbed her palms over her heated cheeks, lifting her eyes to the sleeping hanyou. He must have been the one to tuck her into bed with him...because she surely didn't remember doing something so bold, so rash, so...so...

_Right._

The word jumped into Kagome's head, and her eyes widened at the thought. True, she didn't feel uncomfortable around him, or inhibited by fear or discomfiture that was so common with other couples, but...

And since when had she started thinking about them as a 'couple'?

Scowling at her own silly thoughts, Kagome turned and reached into her closet for a change of clothes. The first thing she needed, Kagome decided, was to change into fresh clothes, and then she'd wash her face. Some cold water would do much to wake her up and put a halt to all those strange notions that sharing a bed with Inuyasha had put into her head.

_But what if they've been there all along?_

"That's just absurd," Kagome snapped under her breath, draping a clean skirt and a dark green blouse over her arm. "Utterly ridiculous. Besides, there's always _Kikyo_." She spat the name distastefully, turning to head out the door.

"What about her?"

Inuyasha's slurred question had her freezing in her tracks. Kagome glanced back at the bed to find Inuyasha half-awake, rubbing bleary eyes with the back of one hand—his left, she noted incongruously—as he propped himself up against her headboard. His gaze was disconcertingly clear as he repeated, "What about her?"

Kagome's blush flared over her cheeks, and she replied hastily, "Nothing. Nothing, Inuyasha. Nothing at all."

He frowned at her skeptically, reproachfully. "You're lying," he pointed out bluntly. "And we both know it. What about Kikyo?"

She flinched at the sound of the name, and Inuyasha blinked, surprised by the depth of her reaction. There was more there, he realized slowly, than just pity for a troubled soul who couldn't find rest; antipathy for a woman who refused to let Inuyasha himself go. More than he'd thought he'd ever find in his life.

"...You wouldn't understand," Kagome whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "Just...let it be, Inuyasha." She rubbed her hands over her face before bravely meeting his eyes. "If you're feeling up to it, we should go back through the well later today. I'm sure the others are waiting for you."

Inuyasha swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "Yeah," he replied, voice rough as his heart stuttered in his chest. "Sure."

She averted her gaze, mumbling, "Well, I'll go get changed then." Kagome slipped quietly out of the room, leaving a stunned and shaken Inuyasha alone.

_When had things become so complicated?_ He wondered, staring at the closed door. _When had it become...love?_

He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the wall. They had to go back...It had been a deceptively long, short while since he'd first arrived, delirious and alone, begging her to take care of him despite her anger towards him. Despite everything. _It's been a while..._The phrase seemed to be both soothing and mocking, and Inuyasha frowned. It had been so long, and yet they'd both been right there.

"...Right here," Inuyasha murmured, looking around the room. His right hand moved to press over his heart. "Right here."

"_Why do we always fight when we both want the same thing?"_

Kagome's question ran through his mind, and Inuyasha blinked in understanding. Gods, how could he have been so dense? They'd just made one big circle, and were right where they started.

A half-laugh passed his lips as he slid slowly out of bed, careful not to disrupt his upset stomach. He'd gotten it 'pumped', Kagome had explained the previous night, a most unpleasant process he hoped fervently to never have repeated, to rid his body of the dangerous toxins that had been circulating throughout his system. The medicine the doctor had forced on him—the chalky stuff Kagome had bullied him into taking—left an acrid aftertaste on his tongue, and Inuyasha made a face at the memory-induced reaction. "Yuck." He tugged on his gi, straightened the rosary, and glanced around for Tetsusaiga.

They had unfinished business in the Sengoku Jidai.

But they had unfinished business to deal with, first.

Kagome returned as quietly as she had left, her dirty clothes bundled in her arms. She glanced at Inuyasha, as if surprised to see him on his feet. "You feeling all right?" she asked, moving past to dump her clothes in the hamper by the wall. Inuyasha stepped to intercept her, and she looked up at him quizzically. "Inuyasha?"

He swallowed, one hand holding her elbow—to prevent her from stepping away, he thought—the other closing lightly over her injured wrist. He lifted her arm to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the clean bandage. "I'm sorry I hurt you," he whispered, his eyes intent on hers. Kagome swallowed, her heart hammering unevenly in her chest. What was he doing? What was he thinking?

"I'm sorry for everything." He stepped closer, and Kagome felt her knees shake. Her eyes stayed on his, and she trembled, once, as his arm slipped around her waist. "Everything but this."

And his mouth closed gently over hers.

He broke the kiss long moments later, and Kagome blinked at him, stunned, blushing, and not unreceptive to a repeat performance. He smiled shyly at her. "We're right back where we started, you know," he said as she started to giggle, the clothes in her arms dropping to their feet as she wrapped her arms firmly around his shoulders. "And we haven't solved anything. "And we still have to get back and tell Miroku and Sango and the others that we're okay." She rested her head on his shoulder, tucked safely against his heart. "And I...I promise I'll try my best not to hurt you, but...There's still a lot of things ahead of us to deal with." She pretended she wasn't listening to him, but to the steady beat of his heart by her ear.

Inuyasha gave her a small, playful shake. "Are you listening to me?" Kagome smiled up at him, and he sighed. "And we haven't learned anything, either."

Kagome's lips quirked into a grin. "Oh, I don't know about that, Inuyasha." Gods, her heart felt like it wanted to sing. Wasn't this what she'd wanted—what _they_ had wanted—all along? It was just too bad, she thought, that they had to discover it in such a fashion. But then again, she gave a mental shrug, that was Inuyasha. Never doing anything halfway.

He gave her a quizzical glance, and Kagome's grin spread into a wide and teasing smirk, knowing full well his reaction. "We learned that _dogs_ are allergic to chocolate."

Inuyasha bared his teeth in a sneer, but held Kagome close as she lifted her face to his for another kiss.

One day, he vowed, they'd solve the rest of their problems, too.

"It's been a long three days, Kagome," he sighed into her hair as he obliged her silent request, love singing quietly in his soul. "A long three days, forever."

* * *

10.17.04

NOTES: THE END!! Sorry this chapter took _soooo_ long in coming! I hope it wasn't too highly disappointing, though I must admit this is perhaps my least favorite of all the chapters. I apologize for the extreme sappiness of the ending, and the mention of Kikyo—she just complicates things. However, I was re-reading chapter one, and I realized that there were quite a few allusions that I needed to wrap up regarding their relationship...And how they haven't GONE ANYWHERE. (er, slight hint that I'm frustrated with the stagnation of their relationship in manga books, oh, 20-36). Thanks for staying with me so long!


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